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Show Whittier and Garrifon. In the poem entitled "~!oral Warfare," (the very title shows its character,) the li· nes quo t e d b Y tl1ee are contrasted with such as the e: " A moral ·warfare with the crime And folly of an evil time." "And strong in Him whoso cause is ours, In conflict with unholy powerR, 'V e grn p the weapons He has given, The Light, and Truth, and Love of Ilenven." The poem "Yorktown" is simply a dram~tic representation of the capture of Yorktown, and the ree ns~avement of the fucritive slaves in the abused name of Liberty. No 0 • b eulogy of war was intended or given,- none can e so unde rstood. Hut enoucrh of this merely personal explanation. No one who k:wws ;c or who has read my writing;~, can be doubtful for a moment a~ to my position- utter abhorrence of war, and of slavery as in itself a state of war, where the violence is all on one side. The pledge which we gnve to the world at Pl~iladelphia, twenty-six years ago, when we signed the DeclaratiOn of Sentiments, fresh from thy pen, that we would r eject, om·::.elves, and entreat the oppressed to reject the usc of all carnal weapons for deliverance from bondage; that we admitted the sovereignty of the States over the subject of Slavery within their limits ; and that we were under high moral obligations to use, for the promotion of our cau e, moral and political action as prescribed in the Constitution of the United State~,- we l~ave since reiterated in a thou ~and forms, and on as many occa wns. I have seen no reason to doubt the wi dom of that pledge. Slavery was ju. t what it is now, neither better nor w?rs~, when we made it. If it is right and proper now to use forcible means in behalf of the slave, it was right and proprr t lwn. If it he sail! that Old Testament Chri ::;tian:::; are not bnt lrHl hy our pledge:::, anu that we arc at liberty to applaud tbvlll iu Whittier and Garrifon. appeals to the sword, I can only say that I dare not encourage others who have not my scruples to do what I regard as morally wrong. On the contrary, I would use, even to the slaves, the language of thy own lines : " Not by the sword shall your deliverance be, Not by the shedding of your masters' blood, Not by rebellion, nor foul treachery Upspringing sudclenly like swellinrr flood· t> ' R evenge and rapine ne'er did bring forth good. God's time is best, nor will it lon(T delay· - t> ' Even now your barren cau e berrins to bud t> ' And glorious shall the fruit be. "\Vatch and pray! For, lo ! the kindling dawn that ushers in the clay." I am painfully e nsibl • of many error of feel ing and judgment, but my con ~ci nee bears me witness that I have, at least, hone. tly stri,·cn to be faithful alike to Freedom and Peace. That this is thy own earnest desire, I have as little doubt. V cry truly, thy friend, J. G. 'VIIITTIER. REJOINDER OF GARUI. ON. Our friend, ,John G. 'Yhittier, wholly mi ~apprehcnds the point of our criticism, rc~pccting hi poetical effusion upon "Brown of 0 , n.watom ic," a publi ·bed in the N ew York Independent. 'V e did not mean to imply that he had dcpart<' d from his peace principle , in the various extracts we made from his soul-stirring productions; but only that, in his reft'rencc to Bunker Ilill, and Lexington, and Yorktown, &c, &c., he r ecognized whatever was noble in the ·pirit and condnct of our r cYolu tionary father,, without pa ing any condcn~ nation upon them in juxtapo ition with his commendations, a.~ ~n the case of John Brown. 'V e find no such phra cs as "the ra h and bloody hand," "the guilty mean ," " the folly that seeks through evil good," "the raid of midnight terror," "tlte outlaw's pride of daring," &c., but thrilling appeals in 1he loftictit strains of heroic appreciation,- • * • • 27 |